Danielle Chesney

Danielle is a multifaceted editorial journalism major who is particularly interested in women's issues. She spent a summer at the weekly newspaper Lansing City Pulse writing multiple articles daily with strict deadlines. She also has had multiple positions ranging from social media head to head writer to producer of a sketch comedy show on Michigan State's campus called Sideshow. Her involvement in VIM Magazine has given her magazine writing experience while writing weekly for The Black Sheep has given her satirical experience.

Snapchat’s latest feature as of June 2017, Snap Map, allows users to share pictures, videos and now locations with others across the world, raising concern from users about their safety. “I honestly am not a fan of it because I have a bunch of random Snapchat friends who are not actually my friends,” said Arielle Iafrate, 21. “[It’s] kind of creepy to think that they can just look at the map and know exactly where I am.”

Iafrate attends the University of Michigan, where she said she has met many people at bars and tailgates that added her on the popular social media app casually before the new feature arrived. Now, Iafrate says the app has taken on a purpose she did not originally download it for. “I compare it to ‘Find my Friends,’” said Iafrate.

Phillip Gardner, executive director of the Career Services Network at Michigan State University and director of the Collegiate Employment Research Institute, said that many students and young adults have taken to using LinkedIn and other professional-centric social media websites like BumbleBizz, announced in July of 2017, to grow and engage with their network. “LinkedIn is very useful for students to connect to alumni and professionals in occupations that you are interested in, and learn more, find out what you need to do to enter,” he said. According to Jobvite’s “Job Seeker Nation 2016” survey, 48 percent of job seekers used social media in the search for their most recent job and 59 percent use social media to research the culture of the company they were interested in. Additionally, Jobvite’s “Recruiter Nation” survey discovered that 92 percent of recruiters use social media in their outreach, and 87 percent use LinkedIn specifically. Chris Chavez, a senior studying cyber security and information sciences and technology at Penn State University, used social media to obtain his internship with AstraZeneca, a pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company in Bloomington, Delaware.

This past March, Frankie Salamida agreed to babysit the social media account of a vacationing high school friend. “My friend was on spring break and texted me and said, ‘Will you keep my Snapchat streaks going for me?’” Salamida, 20, said. “Being a good friend, I said, ‘Yeah, sure.’ So I’m on her phone, Snapchatting people for her, and I’m pretending to be her.”

Amidst holiday festivities, Salamida, a political science pre-law major at Michigan State University, decided to test her luck on St. Patrick’s Day by sending a naked photo to another Snapchat user through her friend’s account. “I get the idea that I should send a kid we went to high school with a nude, thinking it’s from this girl, but it’s really me, without her knowing,” Salamida said.

EAST LANSING – Fake IDs are not a new phenomenon, appearing in popular movies ranging from the more recent ”Superbad” in 2007 to “The Breakfast Club” back in 1985. Though they are glamorized in film and television as a teenage rite of passage, fake IDs are an epidemic, with college campuses as a hub. “It’s a college town,” said one Michigan State University student, 19, with a fake ID. “What do you expect? I know that East Lansing has cracked down this year especially on fake IDs, but if you’re a hot girl, you’re usually not going to have a problem.”

The MSU student, who requested anonymity because her actions are illegal, said she acquired her fake ID online to purchase alcohol and go to the bars with her friends who also have fake IDs.

Community and Economic Development Administrator Lori Mullins describes the reason for the recent peacemaking efforts in downtown East Lansing. EAST LANSING – The East Lansing Community and Economic Development office enlisted a lover of cities to lead their upcoming placemaking workshop April 22. Community and Economic Development Administrator Lori Mullins contacted Peter Kageyama last fall. Kageyama said that she had heard him speak and wanted to find a way to bring him to East Lansing. Kageyama is the author of “For the Love of Cities: The Love Affair Between People and Their Places” and “Love Where You Live: Creating Emotionally Engaging Places,” and hosted a TEDx talk on how to build a relationship with one’s city in 2011.

EAST LANSING – Every Thursday after school, Kelly Arndt ushers seniors from the Prime Time Senior Program to MacDonald Middle School to work with Visual Arts Teacher Lauren Engler and her Art Club students on two panels of an intergenerational mosaic. The collaborative project has kept the groups busy since November, but their hard work will create an enduring art piece for the entire East Lansing community to enjoy. Arndt and Engler hatched the idea for the mosaic in June after last year’s mosaic project in honor of Matt Epling, said Engler. Engler said Arndt had heard about Epling’s mosaic, facilitated by Engler, at the East Lansing Art Festival, and contacted her about creating another mosaic incorporating multiple generations. They involved Special Education Teacher Amanda Moran and her students with a panel of the mosaic, as well.

EAST LANSING – During a joint meeting of the East Lansing City Council and East Lansing Public School Board this past Monday, three residents advocated to update the city’s neighborhood schools and reopen Red Cedar Elementary at 1110 Narcissus Drive, which closed June 2014. “You get the sense that when people voted to close the school, or supported to close the school or opposed the reopening of the schools, they did it because they don’t believe in neighborhood schools,“ said resident Fred Jacobs, accounting professor at Michigan State University. “The actual reason they support closing a school is because they do value neighborhood schools and it’s not their school that’s being closed…It’s a self interest thing.”

Fred Jacobs’ wife, Kathy, said that since schools like Red Cedar and Central began to close, families have started to move out in search a home that could give them the “very safe, friendly and unique” feeling that the Flowerpot Neighborhood could no longer provide. “This has changed the dynamic of the neighborhood,” said Kathy Jacobs, East Lansing resident. “I’m afraid this trend is saying to families who especially care about the environment that no, you can’t live in the city, you must move to the suburbs and drive a car.”

The School Board agreed, with Board of Education President Nell Kuhnmuench immediately turning to Mayor Mark Meadows so they could discuss their approach.

Reggie Ferrell describes what made the fraudulent phone call believable. Sound clip by Danielle Chesney. EAST LANSING – Michigan State University Police have received multiple reports of fraudulent phone calls occurring in the East Lansing area and have encouraged members of the community to be aware of the scam. Michigan State University sophomore Ondraé Lawson received a fraudulent call from a man at a Detroit phone number, claiming to be from the IRS. She said the man told her that her university grants had unpaid taxes, and if she did not pay $1,200, she would face major consequences.

EAST LANSING – People of every age, race and walk of life huddled together in the cold outside of Jack Breslin Student Event Center at Michigan State University on Wednesday. They had been queuing up since noon to see Bernie Sanders speak live there at 7 p.m.

Among them was Phillip Lamoureux, who paced up and down along the line, holding small pamphlets he created himself that detailed how a college student could obtain an absentee ballot before the Michigan presidential primary on March 8. “I’m out here trying to make sure that people get to vote for whoever they are voting for,” said Lansing resident Lamoureux. “If there’s ever a vote where they say that every vote counts, this one counts more in a sense. There’s a reason; it’s called proportional voting.

EAST LANSING – Among members of the East Lansing community sat Joan Fairey with her friends and family, who traveled from everywhere from London to Los Angeles to attend the 2015 Crystal Awards and surprise Fairey with a much-deserved award. Unaware of her nomination and completely content to watch and enjoy the free food, Fairey said she was “gobsmacked” when the host announced her name as one of the four Crystal Award winners. The East Lansing Crystal Awards is an annual event hosted by the East Lansing City Council. According to the city of East Lansing website, recipients of the award can be groups, individuals, non-profits, businesses or professionals who contribute to community life in a remarkable way. East Lansing City Council member Susan Woods describes the typical Crystal Award recipient as “a citizen in East Lansing who has contributed greatly to the betterment and the fabric of East Lansing.”

Karen Arndorfer, a friend of Fairey’s, nominated Fairey for the Crystal Award because of her extensive contributions with multiple organizations including the East Lansing Food Co-op, Greater Lansing Food Bank, Sparrow Hospital and the East Lansing Public Library.

Special Projects

EAST LANSING, Michigan — For years, men and women have struggled with the idea of finding the right shade of beauty for their skin and having it fit to their complexion and skin type. There has always been a debate between drugstore makeup companies like Maybelline and Covergirl compared to high-brand cosmetic companies like […]

Matt St. Germain strives to bring some positivity into this world and others’ news feeds St. Germain is a master’s student at Michigan State University. He makes it a priority to inspire and influence others. Spartan Newsroom: Please tell us a little bit about yourself, your background, interests and goals? Matt St. Germain: I am […]

The challenge of leaving home to pursue a career in collegiate cross country has been difficult for Robert “Bobby” Crowley. Crowley, 18, was born in Carlow, Ireland. The freshman ran cross country at Knochbeg College before coming to the U.S. and enrolling at Michigan State University. For Crowley, he has witnessed significant culture change.

Aug. 1, until the middle of November. January until May. And three weeks off in July. Any die-hard football fan knows why I left out December. This is the life of a college football coach. For me, it’s all too familiar. It’s also the life of my dad. Ron Burton’s coaching experience Graduate assistant coach (1992-93) […]

From non-profits and local community members to city advisors and corporations, there is a lot going on in and around East Lansing to improve sustainability and access to recycling. Vast improvement in these areas is no easy feat, but people at all levels of the community are working to increase access to going greener.